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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 1980)
\ programs he Univei ner Studs a membeiii /ersity Sy The 250 o(i ,ips, for itudents, rial support! ition. Dr, lent for acaij rntalin rship [ ids are $1,500, r rceived a THE BATTALION Page 9 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1980 Library hoping for $9, OOO gift Computer reads, sings for blind By STARR MOORE Battalion Reporter What will computers do next? They may read, or even sing. A computer did just that Mon day at Texas A&M University’s ® | Sterling C. Evans Library. The iKurzweil Reading Machine for | the Blind “sang,” or rhythmically | : recited, Chattanooga Choo Choo Unirej for two attentive audiences. Shane Snowden, a Kurzweil sales representative, demons trated the machine to about 40 Achieve® j people, including Texas State li I Rep. Bill Presnal, a representa- * 1 tive for the state commission for j the blind and a veteran represen- 5 tative, who works with handicap ped students. 1 Snowden said the machine can form i not only read lyrics to music, but rship prop? can also compute multiple-digit '■ She said that it follows 1,000 rules of the English language and n | can read aloud anything from Texas All! | newspapers to hard-cover books. The machine can also speak at va rious pitches and speeds accord ing to listeners’ preferences, she said. “After a while, you get the feel ing the computer is a human being,” Snowden said. The machine reads all types and styles of print, she said, mak ing the invention especially help ful for the visually handicapped. She said it allows a visually im paired person to hold a job such as an airline reservationist, since the machine will repeat the reserva tions audibly, just as a regular computer records the informa tion visually. Snowden said 220 machines have been sold throughout the country over the past five years, with a sales increase in the last year due to the lowering of the computer price from $29,000 to $9,000. Most buyers come from public and university libraries, she said. Snowden said that large cor porations and the federal govern ment are becoming more in terested in the reading machines, which allow more jobs to be filled by the handicapped. This func tion helps keep organizations within their affirmative action re quirements, she said. Presnal said, however, that he does not foresee the state of Texas supplying all counties with the machines, like the state of New York has done, due to the size and number of counties in Texas. Kathy Jackson, head of the Texas A&M library reference di vision, said Dr. Irene Hoadley, director of the library, wants to make organizations aware that a reading machine would be a valu able gift for the University. Jack- son said Hoadley is looking for possible sources of funds if the computer is not given to Texas A&M. Jackson said she would like to see the University be able to offer use of the reading machine to its visually impaired students. She said it would not only allow them , the independence that no other reading aid offers, but would also give them access to any book in the library. Kenneth Ballard, a psychology major and one of the visually im paired students at Texas A&M, said the machine would be a “good thing” for him. He said it would be useful, although he finds it hard to understand the computer voice — or “outerspace” voice -— as Snowden calls it. Ballard said other traditional blind reading aids, such as talking books and hired readers, are not as convenient as the machine. He said readers are often unreliable. Snowden said the visually im paired especially enjoy the read ing machines’ efticiency and con- ‘Sexist’ stories challenged aperton, McNiel outline ,. issues in local Jaycee debate illj I By NANCY ANDERSEN By WAYNE COOK Battalion Reporter The degree to which “boys will be boys” and “girls will be girls” may be influenced by the images of males and females presented in children’s books. Distinctions in children’s litera ture between passive, nurturant, submissive girls and aggressive, forceful, dominant boys are being questioned. “Non-sexist” story books are com ing into use as society changes its perception of sex roles. These “non sexist” story books avoid sexual stereotypes. However, using “non-sexist” story books with pre-school youngsters seems to change the teachers’ atti tudes toward stereotypes faster than the childrens’, said Dr. Dolly Thiem, head of home economics at Tarleton State, part of the Texas A&M University System. Thiem tested 79 black and Mex ican-American children in a North Texas pre-kindergarten program to determine if “non-sexist” books and trained teachers changed the role perceptions held by 4- and 5-year- olds. Twenty books were chosen for the study, including “The Man Who Didn’t Wash His Dishes,” "Wil liam’s Doll” and “Mommies at Work.” “Teacher attitudes changed sig nificantly with training, but chil dren’s did not in the short, four- week observation period,” Thiem said. Similar results were found in an earlier study by Thiem using white children. The study underscored the theory that pre-kindergarten children have already developed ideas of roles based on gender. These early ideas are probably received from family attitudes, other story books, televi sion and perhaps even from images in the news media, Thiem said. Teachers’ expectations have an important impact on classroom inter reactions and children’s perceptions may change with time, Thiem said. Dr. Judy Huffty, director of curri culum and staff development for Col lege Station Independent School District, agrees that teachers’ views and their choice of curriculum can play a part in a child’s perception of sex roles. “It is important to present a ba lanced viewpoint,” she said. Huffty said she tries to raise the awareness level of teachers and libra rians with respect to children’s sex role perceptions. Teachers graduating from college in the past five years seem to be more conscious of sexual stereotypes, Huffty said. Book publishers are also becoming more aware of how the sexes are de picted in childrens’ books. They are concerned with accurately reflecting modem society, she said. arbutstoris ailroadG*! Democii 1 n againsttli Battalion Staff I The two candidates for State Senator District Five kcussed the race issues in a Bryan College-Station laycees debate Wednesday. » Kent A. Caperton (Dem.) and Dr. N.A. McNiel lep.) each summed up their campaigns and then ered questions, aperton said the race boils down to three basic lues: qualifications, perception of the issues and the jlity to articulate the issues and to do something about ise issues. "I have varied experience that does equip me,” he is a real, IviHCaperton said the issues are education, law enforce- Jnt, agriculture, maintaining a strong business cli- of Houstoi Juste and getting control of state government, aost polM Faculty and staff salaries should be increased, he said, began eaili‘ aswe h 35 maintaining the Permanent University Fund. In addition, law enforcement salaries are too low, he hunt. Ifd. overtosenl tn his perm Once these problems are recognized, Caperton said he has the ability to quickly establish a leadership role in the Legislature. He said he is aggresive, active and knows the legislative process. McNiel said he has campaigned on three points: mor ality, integrity and leadership. The country should get back to some basic moral beliefs, McNiel said. “Government has interfered too much in churches.” Also, “Integrity is a necessary part of service in the public section,” he said. McNiel explained his motivation for seeking public office. “I was told that when a person retires, they should do what they want to,” he said. “And for the past nine months I’ve been doing just that. ” Energy conserva tion seminar set Friday 0 have betil her suits ®! Texas Energy and Natural Re- . sources Advisory Council is sponsor- , e hinue. jag a n Energy Conservation Seminar on his cam p^y f rom 9 a. m. - 5 p. m. in the old city hall at Church and Wellborn in • from Ox college Station, itment C(®| seminar is divided into three "igments. Malcolm Verdict, project manager ir Texas Energy and Natural Re- mrces Advisory Council, will dis- iss the state’s role in conserving lergy as the first presentation. , The second segment of the prog- m will deal with general aspects of ergy conservation on heat trans- i r. The technicalities will be ex- ;ained by Bob Henry, energy con- H servation coordinator with the Texas Engineering Extension Service. Bahman Yazdani, an energy code enigneer with the Public Works Training Divison of Texas Engineer ing Extension Service, will begin the third segment dealing with energy conservation for buildings. Another feature of the program will be a slide show of the inspection and identification of energy saving materials. Yazdani said although the program is geared toward builders, sub contractors, engineers and architects, everyone is welcome. A WITCH WITHOUT A STITCH? 1 P - MAYBE — ' J Zacharias Greenhouse >. 5th ANNUAL \ i. 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